Need some basic questions answered

[alih]

I've recently purchased a used digital piano and am trying to learn basic ****. I just wanna say I did some googling and still can not figure out wtf a scale is and why it matters, if I use a scale am I only allowed to play the notes in that certain scale, lets say i wanna use a blues scale can i play a c major chord in it? If i use scales can i still play chords? If so do i have to change the note of the chords? How do you actually play scales? Do i just play them root to end, or can I play them how i want? I do have some books on the subject such as piano playing for dummies Razz yet they dont answer the basic questions, **** dont even come with chords Sad. Whats a good scale for hip hop? Whats a legato, is it the same as an arpeggio? Also, if i have the guitar tab for a song, how can I play that song on piano using the guitar tab?

[C00kie]

There are twelve different notes on a piano keyboard.

A scale is a subset of seven notes (or six or five) that fit nicely together. For instance all the white notes make up the C Major scale. Start at the A, and it's become the A Minor scale.

If you've picked a scale to play in, it is not forbidden to play any of the five notes that are not in the scale. Can work quite nicely actually! If that note is not accidental but structural then it's possible you've changed scale.

A chord is a subset of three or four (or more) notes of a scale. Start at the root, skip one, play one, skip one, play one. That's the basics. Add any note you like and listen weather it sounds OK.

While playing a chord with one hand you can play a melody with the other hand, using any of the notes from the scale. Or add notes that aren't in the scale. It's up to you....

To play a scale just play all the notes in sequence, up and down. Try to find variations. That's for training your fingers, not to make actual music.

I don't think hiphop is tied to an actual scale. Whatever works should be the ghetto motto.

Legato is a playing technique where subsequent notes overlap.

When playing a chord you can play all the notes in one go. If you play them in sequence (play them one at a time) then that's arpeggio.

Guitar tabs are not the best things to play on piano. If they also note what chords they represent, then that can be used though. Requires some finding of those chords on the piano keyboard. They are spelled out for guitar, which is not easy for a beginner to translate to keyboard.

[alih]

"To play a scale just play all the notes in sequence, up and down. Try to find variations. That's for training your fingers, not to make actual music." I'm gonna use the D Minor Scale as an example, it has notes D,E,F,G,A,B,C#,D. Now when I play the Dminor Scale do i have to play the notes from d1-d2/d2-d1 or can I play for example a mixed melody such as (1st note g, 2nd note c#, 3 note e) Can I do that? Chords dont exist within scales right? So scales only exist to help create single note songs (melodies) and to help train fingers. Lastly, do you recommend memorizing the chords, and on youtube, I've seen people playing songs from bands such as iron maiden, metallica, and muse on piano. How is this possible if they only have tabs?

[C00kie]

So scales only exist to help create single note songs (melodies) and to help train fingers.

One word with several meanings. It can be confusing...

Playing scales is the most boring practice in music teaching. Some pupils think it's a way of torture. And they are right! Evil teachers let untalented pupils only play scales, in the hope they give up music alltogether. Example of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIbto_cP92U (she actually tries to make it less boring)

Playing in a scale means you restrict yourself to playing notes that are in a specific scale. Not in the scale sequence ABCDEFG, but any random melody. Analyse a melody and you'll find it's in a specific scale.

Lastly, do you recommend memorizing the chords

Absolutely. But start slowly. You'll get there...

and on youtube, I've seen people playing songs from bands such as iron maiden, metallica, and muse on piano. How is this possible if they only have tabs?

Well, there's tabs and tabs.

Here's a guitar tab I found for Nothing Else Matters: http://www.guitaretab.com/m/metallica/22035.html
The six lines are the six strings on guitar. The zeroes says play an open string. The first non-zero is a seven, which means put your finger at the seventh fret.
Once you know the tuning of a guitar (E1 A1 D2 G2 B2 E3) a piano player can learn to read guitar tabs and play it. It's cumbersome...

A more generic method is to just write down chord names next to the lyrics. Example: http://www.azchords.com/m/metallica-tab ... 10725.html
Often in printed form at each chord there's a small tab diagram for newbies how to play that chord on a guitar. With this method you're more left on your imagination how to actually play it.

But there are better ways to notate music for keyboard, or even for each and every instrument! That's called staff music. Example: http://www.encoremusic.com/guitar/1301055_alt_ge.html (sorry, another song... But you get the idea)


I do it differently. Without pen or paper, without downloading anything from the web, I listen to a song and I can play it. That's how I learned the guitar to begin with. Found some tab sheets of a couple of basic chords to play House of the Rising Sun: | Am C | D F | Am C | E E7 | (I just wrote that down without looking anything up) and used those chords and variations to play along with pop songs on the radio. Just find out what it is by trial and error.

That's a talent that I have, and I realise many musicians can't do that. My nephew is a very talented classical piano player, went to performing arts school and all. He says if I take away his sheet music he's sort of amputated.